Clara Blandick (June 4, 1881-April 15, 1962) Was born on an American ship in the harbor off Hong Kong, thereby automatically becoming an American citizen. She began her acting career in silent films in 1910. Known to generations as “Auntie Em” in the 1939 film classic The Wizard of Oz, Clara Blandick was often cast as an aunt, having played “Aunt Mattie” in A Star Is Born, and “Aunt Polly” in Tom Sawyer, and Huckleberry Finn. When she retired in 1950, she had appeared in 110 films.

Clara’s last years were sad and lonely. She suffered arthritic agony and faced the loss of her eyesight. On April 15, 1962, she penned a pathetic note which read: “I am now about to make the great adventure. I cannot endure this agonizing pain any longer. It is all over my body. Neither can I face the impending blindness. I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen.”

A trouper to the end, on the day of her death, she fussed with her hair, gowned herself in a royal blue bathrobe, and lay down on a couch. She took an overdose of sleeping pills and covered herself with a gold colored blanket.

Beloved “Auntie Em” went back home.